


Promise Me

by Luces



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst, Canon Rewrite, EmetWoL Week (Final Fantasy XIV), F/M, Female Roegadyn Warrior of Light, Ill-fated lovers, Mild Smut, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Sort Of, Vaginal Sex, eternal bond - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-09-19
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:28:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26539609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luces/pseuds/Luces
Summary: While heading toward the Tempest, some unseen force is telling her to find him. When she does, all of the memories of their past life together come flooding back. Despite them both knowing that they aren't meant to be, they share a final moment together before Emet-Selch asks her to promise to never forget him again.For EmetWoL Week 2020: Day 7 - Forget Me Not / Eternal Bond
Relationships: Azem/Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch, Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch/Warrior of Light
Kudos: 5





	Promise Me

**Author's Note:**

> A couple things before we start:  
> *This my first fic for FF14, so my characterization is probably off.  
> *It was only after I started writing it that I thought "crap, I always name my mmorpg characters after my internet handle". This isn't intended to be a self-insert fic, though, as my WoL has a life of her own after so many years of playing.
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to open this fic and hopefully give it a read!

_"I'll be waiting for you in the Tempest…"_

Those hadn't been Emet-Selch's exact words, but she couldn't shake the feeling that that was what he wanted her to hear.

Ever since he had started following the Scions around Norvrandt, she had felt a knot growing inside of her. At first she tried to ignore it, assuming it was a side effect of absorbing the Light into her body. After all, mortal bodies weren't made to hold all of that energy. However, the knot never changed after defeating a Lightwarden. The nagging ball of tension in her chest only continued to get tighter every time she saw his face, every time she heard his voice. It was because of him, and she wasn't sure why.

Bismarck soared through the cloudless sky toward the coast of Kholusia. As she stared out toward the Tempest looming ahead of them, she clutched at her chest.

_"Come find me…"_

Her face scrunched into a grimace as her chest tightened once again.

"Luces? What's wrong? Are you okay?" asked Alisaie. She quickly approached her companion and placed a hand gently on her shoulder.

Luces pursed her lips and nodded. "Yes, Alisaie. It's just some aftershocks from that last battle. I'll be fine."

Alisaie raised her eyebrow and folded her arms

"I promise it's nothing," said Luces, smiling. "See, it's already passed. Please trust me. If it gets worse, I'll let you all know."

Alisaie stared at her for a moment before reluctantly nodding and returning to Alphinaud's side.

Bismarck began his descent into the ocean and moments later, everything went black.

* * *

"Is everyone alright?" asked Y'shtola. "That was quite the bumpy landing."

Everyone nodded in agreement, brushing off the excess sand from their gear. Looking at their surroundings, everything seemed so vast, barren, and dark. It was such a stark difference to everywhere else on the First.

"Well then," said Thancred, his hands on his hips as he looked around the surrounding area. "I suggest we follow the slope for now. I don't know where our enemy lies in wait, but we should find our bearings before we venture too deep into the trench. It's better to stay out in the open, lest he try to ambush us."

The other Scions nodded in agreement and began to walk down the slope to the southeast. Luces hung back for a moment. She stared off toward the southwest. Something was there. She didn't know what she would find, but something inside of her told her that she had to go, that she must go. Something inside told her that if she made it there, the pain in her chest would finally subside.

She closed her eyes and sighed, opening them with renewed determination.

"Hey guys, wait up for me!" she called out as she ran to catch up with her companions.

She would have to endure the pain for just a while longer.

* * *

Why? Why did this place feel so...familiar? There was no logical explanation for why she would feel this overwhelming sense of nostalgia for this city, and yet…

Riding down the elevator, it became harder to breathe. The pressure in her chest was building. Was she having a heart attack? Or did it mean that _he_ was close by.

It was only a few steps into the city before she clutched her chest and fell to her knees before everything went blank.

Amaurot. The Ancient utopian city. The memories that lay dormant within her soul all flooded back in what felt like an instant.

Then a voice. It sounded like a voice was calling to her through the darkness. Could it be…?

"Luces...Luces!"

Her eyes fluttered open. She groggily tried to focus on the face in front of her.

"Alphinaud?"

"Ah! There you are! You collapsed with no warning, my friend. We weren't sure whether it was the Echo or if…" He frowned and looked away.

"If I was giving in to the Light?" She smiled at him. "My dear friend, we have been traveling together for a very long time. I'd like to think you'd have a little more faith in me by now."

Alphinaud sighed and forced a small smile. "I know...and I do. But you'll never be able to stop me from worrying about you anyway."

She stood up and dusted off her robe. "So where is everyone?"

"After you collapsed, I volunteered to stay with you while the others split up to explore the city. We should go look for them. It'd be safer to search for Emet-Selch together. Who knows what he would do to one of us if he got us alone."

Her heart ached. _I know where he is, and I need to see him. Alone._

"Okay then," she said. "Let's go."

* * *

She felt a small pang of guilt in her stomach. She hated that she abandoned Alphinaud like that. Perhaps if he hadn't stopped so many times to admire the architecture, she wouldn't have had a chance to duck down a dark alleyway without him noticing. No...no, she would have found a way to do that no matter what. She _had_ to separate from him before they found the rest of the Scions.

Her feet instinctually brought her closer to her destination. After several minutes and many turns down little-used side roads, the warmth that was building inside of her told her that she had arrived.

She pushed open the giant door in front of her with surprising ease. There he stood, at the other end of the great hall, staring back at her.

"Heh. I see you came alone. So you're as foolish as you are weak."

She slowly walked forward, the thud of her leather boots echoing against the marble walls.

Emet-Selch crossed his arms and shook his head. "How utterly disappointing. I honestly expected more from you, hero. Here I had thought that you had the potential for greatness. The potential to stand by my side. I thought that maybe you…"

He sighed as his arms dropped to his side.

"Emet-Selch," she said, continuing forward.

He shook his head and turned away from her.

"Emet-Selch!" she said louder. Her footsteps quickened as she closed the space between them.

He ignored her calling out his name. He slowly walked away, placing his hand on the massive door in front of him.

If she let him leave now, it was over. She had to do this.

" _Hades!_ "

He froze.

She began to run.

"I haven't heard that name in a very long time." His gloved fingers slowly slid down the door. "So it _is_ you…"

The sound of her boots stopped behind him. He turned around.

"...my Azem."

She stepped forward, pushing him back against the wall while she reached to cup his face. She took his lips in a kiss that felt warm and familiar. The pleasant warmth that had been building in her chest began to spread out throughout her entire body.

He pulled away from the kiss to wander lower. He kissed along her jaw, then down her neckline to her chest. He paused for a moment, making an audibly frustrated sound.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

He grabbed the neckline of her robe and roughly pulled it down, exposing her full breasts.

"Hades!" she gasped.

His warm lips and tongue explored her skin, drawing soft moans from her throat. Moans that grew increasingly loud as his mouth became bolder.

He grabbed her hips and pulled them as close to his as he could. "I want to feel you against me. It's been so long."

"Yes! I don't want to wait any longer. I want to feel you inside of me."

He kissed her passionately as he turned them around and pushed her against the heavy door. He began to hike up her robes, but soon realized that it was a failed mission.

"Fuck these accursed robes!" he muttered against her lips.

He pulled away in a huff, fumbling with his belt. She followed his lead, working on removing her many layers. A few frustrating minutes later, they were finally pressed skin to skin against the marble door.

"Worth it?" she asked.

"You always were."

He squatted down and placed his hands behind her thighs, lifting her as he stood back up. Her thick muscular thighs wrapped tightly around his waist. Her arms draped across his shoulders, her hands grazing over his strong back. She dug her fingers into his skin and exhaled as he pushed inside of her.

The sound of heavy breaths and needy moans filled the hall as they shared this moment. Gone from their minds were her companions, the souls of Amaurot, and the citizens of the First. They were the only two souls that mattered. They were present, drinking in the taste, the smell, the sound, the feel of one another.

Her nails scratched red lines up his back as she neared release. "I love you so much," she whispered as her legs began to tremble around him.

"I love you, too." He buried his face into the crook of her neck and moaned her name as he finished.

They stood pressed together against the door, chests heaving as they caught their breath. Her forehead rested against his, their hair both matted down with sweat. He carefully lowered her legs to the ground, holding her close until he knew she could safely stand on her own.

They quietly got dressed, despite the strong desire to linger, feeling the other's bare skin against their own. As she smoothed down her robes, she could feel him slowly drip down her thigh. She smiled to herself. Her companions wouldn't be the wiser to this secret tryst.

She leaned her back against the doors and slid down until she was sitting on the floor. Emet-Selch raised an eyebrow at her. She patted the floor beside her until he joined her.

"You were always a stubborn one," he said.

"You're one to say that, my love," she said with a laugh. "Why else wouldn't you have told me earlier about our past together? This whole time we could have been—"

"You had to remember on your own. Would you have even believed me if I had tried to tell you? Your friends don't trust me, and even now I'm not entirely certain that you do either."

She placed her hand over his and squeezed.

"I always trusted you, even if we didn't always see eye to eye."

"Mayhaps once upon a time…" He sighed wistfully. "...but that was countless lifetimes ago, darling." He turned his hand over and threaded his fingers through hers. "I never forgot about you."

She laughed nervously. "I wish I could say the same."

He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "So tell me, darling. Have you had other lovers since your soul was stolen away from me?"

Her cheeks began to glow a soft rose against her brown skin. She bit her lip and looked straight ahead, unable to make eye contact with him.

He leaned in close to her ear. "Come now. Your blush gives you away," he purred.

"Yes, I have. And I loved them as truly as they loved me. But the love I had—have—for them has never been as strong as the love I have for you."

She turned to look at him. He pressed his lips softly against hers, caressing her face.

"Ahh, my Azem," he said as he broke away from the kiss. "You were always at the will of your baser needs. _I_ , on the other hand, have much more control over those sorts of things."

She gave him a playful shove. "Don't you even try. I know you're full of shit. I'm not the one who sired an entire empire."

"True, I definitely did that," he laughed. "But my heart always belonged to you."

She rested her head against his shoulder. "So…what now?"

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her in close. "I still hope to convince you to embrace the Light and stand by my side as the destroyer of this world. You now remember how perfect our world was. You can see again how beautiful our city, our Amaurot was. Please, my darling. Let us end this all and together we can bring it all back. We can be together again, forever."

She sighed. She knew this would be too good to last. She turned to face him, placing her hands on either side of his face.

"My beautiful Hades, my Emet-Selch...you know that I can't do that. I have chosen my side and I stand by it. What you speak of is a beautiful dream...but I cannot allow all of these souls, mere fractions of their former selves as they may be, to be sacrificed for our happiness. It is a selfish, foolish, wonderful dream...but it is just a dream."

"Maybe it's okay for you to be selfish this time," he whispered.

She shook her head and smiled. "No, my love. Not this time."

"Still so stubborn," he said as he leaned in to kiss her forehead. "So this is it, then?"

She took a deep breath, feeling the start of tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Yes."

"And there's nothing that I can do to change your mind?"

"No," she said, her voice cracking.

"Well, then," he said, standing up. He reached down, offering his hand to her. "Let us make this our true goodbye."

She stood face to face with him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to his chest. She placed her arms around his neck and pressed her forehead against his own.

"When we meet again, it will be as enemies, but know that I will always love you. And no matter what happens, please promise me this."

"Anything," she whispered against his lips.

"Remember me. Remember us, as we once were, and as we are now."

"As long as a fraction of my soul still lives, I promise that I will never forget you."

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this, please take the time to leave a kudos or comment. I really appreciate it.
> 
> You can find me on Twitter @otherluces, I share material from multiple fandoms, but I do often like/reblog FF14 fanart, if you're interested.


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